Texture material is often applied to flat surfaces such as walls and ceilings. The texture material creates a bumpy, irregular surface that is aesthetically pleasing and which helps to hide seams and the like formed by adjacent wall or ceiling panels. The textured surface is usually painted to obtain a desired finish color.
Texture material is a coating material that is sprayed on in liquid form and which dries to form the bumpy, irregular surface described above. The texture material may coat the entire surface or may be applied in discrete splotches on the surface.
When dry, the texture material forms a texture pattern. By varying one or more parameters such as the composition of the texture material and the manner in which the texture material is applied, different texture patterns may be formed. In the industry, the texture patterns are classified generally as follows: fine; orangepeel; medium splatter; heavy splatter; medium knockdown; and heavy knockdown. Of course, custom texture patterns may be formed, but the foregoing texture patterns are considered industry standards. One class of texture materials contains particulates and creates an acoustic or "popcorn" texture pattern that is normally applied to ceilings.
The fine, orangepeel, medium splatter, and heavy splatter texture patterns are obtained simply by spraying texture material onto the surface to be textured. The fine and orangepeel texture patterns are similar to each other, the orangepeel simply being a heavier application of texture material.
The medium and heavy knockdown texture patterns are formed by spraying the texture material onto the surface to be textured and, after a short wait but before the texture material dries completely, working the texture material with a tool to flatten or "knockdown" the peaks of the texture material. In general, the medium knockdown texture pattern is obtained by working the medium splatter texture pattern, and the heavy knockdown texture pattern is obtained by working the heavy splatter texture pattern.
In new construction, texture material is usually applied using a hopper gun connected to a compressor. The compressor supplies a stream of pressurized air that is mixed with texture material in the hopper gun; the stream of pressurized air carries the texture material out of the hopper gun and onto the surface to be textured. Examples of hopper gun type texturing systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,961,537 to Stern.
The texture pattern formed using this method may be varied by altering the air pressure, the manner in which the pressurized air and texture material are mixed, and/or the size of the opening through which the combined air and texture material is dispensed.
While the hopper gun technique is effective when large surface areas are to be textured, this technique is not very convenient when relatively smaller areas are to be textured. For example, if a portion of a drywall panel is patched, the patch will normally require a coating of texture material to ensure that the patched surface area matches the pre-existing texture pattern on the surrounding surface area. With often less than a square foot to be patched and textured, the set-up time of the equipment necessary to use the hopper gun will far exceed the time it takes to coat the patched surface.
A number of attempts have been made to create texturing systems and methods that simplify the process of texturing small areas.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,411,387, 4,955,545, 5,069,390, and 5,188,295 to Stern disclose the use of a hand-pump to generate the stream of pressurized air necessary to carry texture material out of the hopper gun. This process requires a fair amount of physical exertion for all but the smallest coverage areas.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,037,011 and 5,188,263 to Woods disclose the marketing of texture material in an aerosol container. Practically speaking, this system did not allow the creation of a plurality of different texture patterns.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,450,983 to Stern and 5,341,970 to Woods disclose aerosol devices for applying acoustic texture material to a surface.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,310,095, 5,409,148, 5,489,048, and 5,524,798 to Stern disclose systems that allow texture material to be dispensed from an aerosol container in a plurality of texture patterns. By changing a cross-sectional area of a discharge passageway through which texture material passes as it leaves the aerosol container, the texture pattern was varied to obtain a plurality of the standard texture patterns described above.
A number of methods of or systems for changing the effective cross-sectional area of the discharge passageway were disclosed in the Stern patents. One technique is to provide a plurality of straws each having the same outer diameter and each having a different inner diameter. Each straw corresponds to a different pre-existing texture pattern. One of these straws is selected and attached to the actuator button on the aerosol container such that the texture material passes through the straw as the material exits the container.
This technique allows the use of essentially off-the-shelf components but requires the manufacture of a plurality of different straws and that these straws be associated with the aerosol container throughout distribution, sales, and use of the product.
Another technique disclosed in the Stern patents is to provide an outlet member having a plurality of outlet orifices each having a different cross-sectional area and corresponding to a different pre-existing texture pattern. The outlet member is attached to the actuator button on the aerosol container but may be moved relative to the button; any one of the outlet orifices may be arranged such that texture material passes therethrough as the material exits the container.
This technique does not require that a number of separate components (straws) be sold with the aerosol container. But, in practice, this technique requires a custom actuator that is expensive to produce.
As briefly discussed above, texture material is sold in a number of formulations. These formulations can, however, be generally categorized either as water-based or oil-based. Hopper gun texturing systems generally employ water-based texture materials, while aerosol texturing systems contain both water-based and oil-based formulations.
With aerosol dispensing systems, oil-based texture materials are used to obtain fine or orangepeel texture patterns. Water-based formulations are unsuitable for obtaining fine and orangepeel texture patterns because water-based materials tend to form a stream as the texture material exits the container, plug easily, and tend to spit texture material inconsistently when the spray is started and stopped.
On the other hand, water-based texture materials are used to obtain knockdown texture patterns. Oil-based formulations are unsuitable for obtaining knockdown texture patterns because they dry too quickly and require solvent-based cleaners to clean up the tools used to work the texture material.
In summary, then, water-based texture materials have the following characteristics: easy clean up; easy removal if necessary; not malodorous; take longer to dry before it can be painted over; less durable. And oil-based texture materials have the following characteristics: quick drying; very durable; malodorous; require solvents for clean-up.